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Visitors center from zwin park
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Visitors center
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Visitors center - Exhibition
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Watch center / north facade
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south facade - watch center
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Site Plan
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Visitors center - Plan level 0
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Visitors center - plan level +1
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Visitors center - Longitudinal section 1-1
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Visitors center - cross section
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Diagram
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Visitors center
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Maquette Watch center
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Zwin national park
Coussée & Goris architecten, Gafpa. Knokke, Belgium
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Name of work in English
Zwin national park
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Name of work in original language
Zwin Natuurpark
Prize year
EUmies Awards 2017
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Work Location
Knokke, Belgium
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Studio
Coussée & Goris architecten, Gafpa
EUmies Awards 2017 Nominees
The bird and nature reserve ‘Het Zwin’ is a protected nature area between Flanders and the Netherlands. The assignment included the redesign of the existing natural park and the creation of a new visitor center.
Collaborators
Project architect: Goris Klaas; Architect: Coussée Ralf; Project architect: De Waele Martine, De Cock Gijs; Collaborator (office): Van Nieuwenhuyse Kenneth, De Vriese Griet, Temmerman Ine, Deltour Tim, Bouciqué Robrecht, Baeten Evelyne, Ploemen Ricardo; Project architect: De Bruyn Floris; Architect: Verschueren Frederick, De Berlangeer Philippe; Landscape architect: Durinck Paul, Van Synghel Koen, J. Luijters Rudy, Dirker Onno; Graphic design: Kerkhof Benny, Daman Anne
Program
Landscape
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Labels
Facilities · Gardens & Parks
Site area
179.712 m²
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Client
Provincie West-Vlaanderen
Total gross floor
5 m²
Completion
2016
Cost
1.5 €/m²
The authentic maritime landscape with its sand dunes, mud flats and salt marshes, modelled by the sea breeze, consists mainly of wavy lines. Within this wavy landscape COUSSÉE & GORIS architects constructed abstract linear volumes as anchors in the landscape. They also create a fluent transition between the silted forest and the nearby redeveloped ‘Kleyne vlakte’.
The architectural interventions consist of a series of parallel lines, that on one hand structure the landscape and on the other hand shelter as wind screens in the Zwin area. They protect man from nature and vice versa. Cultural characters were evaded to maximize the natural character of the reserve.
Concrete and wood are used once in the interior once in the exterior. The structure is based when in concrete on wooden formwork walls and when in wood of wooden beams and columns that form porches.